Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth met his Baltic State counterparts from Estonia and Latvia in Berlin this week.

Michael Roth exchanged views with Mart Laanemäe, Undersecretary for Europe and Transatlantic Relations at the Estonian Foreign Ministry, who has a profound knowledge of Germany. Laanemäe obtained his PhD in Germany and served as Estonian Ambassador in Berlin from 2008 to 2012.

Following a meeting during his first official visit to Riga on 20 December 2013, this was the second time Michael Roth had met his Latvian counterpart, Andrejs Pildegovičs.

Their talks focused on the current crisis in Ukraine and the cooperation between Germany and the two Baltic States on European issues.

After the meetings Minister of State Roth commented as follows on 26 March:

Estonia and Latvia are reliable partners for Germany within the European Union. This is evident from our countries’ joint positions on many topics regarding European and international policies. The current crisis in Crimea shows how important close cooperation is within Europe. We Europeans will continue to stand side by side and make it clear that the EU will not allow itself to be divided.